You must be intentional with marinades, because if you’re not you can get into some seriously underwhelming or mushy meat situations that would create better kindling for a grill than main courses. So, I give you an option of brush on sauce, like we did in this photo because we were grilled at a theme park, or marinade for at home pleasures.

Ingredients:

For pineapple rice if you so choose:

1 16-20 oz. can of pineapple chunk or a pineapple like we used, drained and juice reserved. When you cut the pineapple from whole use a cutting board that can contain juice well. This is for kebabs and rice.

1 c. long grain white or brown rice

scallions for topping, sliced

For the pork marinade or brush on sauce:

1/4 c. honey (1/3 c. honey for brush on)

zest and juice of 1 lime plus 1 lime for serving

reserved pineapple juice

drizzle of olive or grapeseed oil

kosher salt and cracked black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger

If you don’t like honey use for brush on only: 1/3 c. thick barbeque sauce, whatever you like putting on your grill plus lime, oil and pineapple juice and ginger.

For Kebabs:

presoaked in water wooden skewers (you’ll likely ignite them if you don’t soak them).

1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed of top fat and cubes

2 bell peppers, any colour and preferably not both green, cubed

1 c. pineapple chunk

2 red onions, cut into sixths (if you stick skewers into the onion in 6 places and cut between the skewers you’ll avoid the layers of the onion coming apart and having to skewer them individually).

Directions:

Make the rice in rice cooker or on the stove following package instructions. Once done, fluff it with a fork and season with a touch of salt and pepper. Mix in about 1 c. pineapple and serve with kebabs.

If you’re going for the marinade, I like overnight the best because then you sleep off the work you did on the food and it seems as if the kebab elves have come and made life easier the next day. Mix the ingredients together for the marinade and add the pork and peppers loose, or in a longer dish assemble the kebabs and marinade the whole thing.

If you’re going the brush on route, mix the brush ingredients together in a small bowl for brushing, or deposit them into a squirt bottle. Assemble the kebabs.

Grill according to the sauce option you chose until the pork is completely cooked and the vegetables are slightly charry.